What I Don't know
by Inkkerfuffle
Summary: Marinette has a very important job interview, bringing back memories and insecurities long forgotten.
1. Chapter 1

Part I: What she doesn't know.

* * *

Marinette was quiet as she got off the metro station near their home. The afternoon was beginning to get colder and her left hand pulled her dark jacket closer to her, shivering at the breeze. Her right hand held on to a worn out black leather briefcase that held her second most treasured possessions. Her sketches.

The first of course, being her miraculous.

As a student of the _Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la couture parissienne_ , one of Paris' (and the world's) elites schools for fashion and design, her folder filled with sketches had become something she'd treasured with _her life._ She was among the top of her class, which would likely ensure some sort of job with a number of labels that picked among the Ecole's graduates. And Marinette was set on fulfilling her dream.

Which meant that she had taken possession of the spare room (More like a big closet, really) in the apartment she shared with Adrien, the blond deciding to stick with a desk where he could work on his own school's work. Marinette's corner? It was stacked with fabric, pencils, papers and sewing materials, as well as half-finished designs. The one time Adrien had nosed around while she worked he'd gotten stuck with a stray needle.

After that, he'd decided to let her have that space. His desk was good enough for his work.

Which brought her to today. She'd been away from their home all day long. As they were nearing the end of the semester, it was time for the students in her year to get settled into the internships they'd work for the next year. Marinette had applied to several, sending copies of her portfolio along with her certifications and recomendation letters from some of her advisors. The week after, she'd gotten the schedule of the interviews she needed to attend, and the places she needed to be at. Most of them were held at her school, two of them at offices downtown, but there was one that called her attention immediately.

 _Gabriel Agreste, 4:30._

Sure, Gabriel Agreste was still one of the most famous designers around. And sure, it had been one of her dreams to work there when she was younger… but with her relationship with Adrien and the still mending bridges between father and son… she'd thought she'd better stay away fromthat particular situation. So, after a lot of consideration… she chosen not to apply there.

But there it was, clearly in her schedule. Gabriel Agreste, 4:30; and after that, clear as the light of day, Adrien's old address.

She had been at a loss, but after calling the contact number written by the appointment, it was clear that she was indeed scheduled and that they were indeed waiting for her at the set time. Marinette had debated whether going or not, but refrained from telling Adrien. Why? She wasn't completely sure, but she figured that she didn't want him to sway her either way. This was a decision that she should make on her own. And when the morning came, she had still not made up her mind; figuring that she could always cancel before, once she was done with the previous interview and just head on home and be done with this. After all, she'd gotten in almost all the interviews she wanted… she was sure she could get into any of the other internships she'd applied.

She had the qualifications, after all.

And so, the night before her interviews, she'd tried out just about _every single piece of clothing_ she had and modelled them for Adrien, whose input was absolutely useless, unless she was in between outfits. In the end, she'd settled for a flaring black skirt that reached a couple of inches above her knee, paired with a white blouse and a Marsala colored blazer on top of it. Since the weather was getting colder, she put on some sheer black tights and her favorite black booties. There. She looked professional enough for the interviews, but not stuffy. After all, she was a fashion design student, she needed to let her personality shine through her work and her appearance was part of that.

* * *

She had finished all her interviews, and somehow she'd ended up outside of the Agreste Mansion. Marinette looked inside her bag, she had brought another copy of her portfolio, after all. She hadn't decided whether she'd go through with it, but just in case… she didn't want to be unprepared. Blue eyes glanced at the mansion, she remembered exactly which one was Adrien's room.

"Yes?" The voice from the speaker was cold and she immediately regretted whatever it was that brought her here. She was already here… might as well see how this went.

"I have an appointment" she began "Marinette Dupain Cheng at 4:30" she said, holding the schedule in one of her hands, her blue eyes scanning to see if for some miracle she'd misread it and could excuse herself from ever coming here; her other hand was gripping the handle on her briefcase tightly. This was not a good idea, she just knew it.

The gate clicked and opened. The dark haired woman frowned, well… she figured she might as well go and see what this was all about. Marinette sighed and stepped through the gate, which closed behind her on their own. She walked towards the front door, which then opened, revealing Nathalie Sancoeur. Marinette recognized Gabriel's assistant immediately, it hadn't been that many years since she'd last seen her, although if the older woman had recognized her, Nathalie made no effort to react. "Monsieur Agreste is awaiting in his office." She said, before turning on her heel and walking towards the office.

Alright. No time for pleasantries then. Marinette nodded, feeling uneasy at the echoing sound of their steps as she followed the older woman. The mansion felt so empty. It had never really been lively, not in any case; but she didn't remember it being this quiet. Then again, they had spent all her time here with Adrien. Most of the time, getting a read on the feel of his house hadn't been her younger self's priority.

The young woman had to fight the small smile that threatened to take over her face as she remembered her younger years with Adrien, sneaking around the large Mansion. Such hormonal teenagers they'd been. Monsieur Agreste would definitely not have asked her to come over if he'd known.

They stopped in front of a large set of doors "Wait here" Nathalie informed her, before she stepped inside the office. From outside, Marinette could hear the older woman speak to Adrien's father. "Monsieur Agreste, Miss Dupain-Cheng is here"

"Send her in"

Well, it was certainly too late to leave _now._

Marinette squared her shoulders and held her head high as she walked past Nathalie who stepped outside of the office and closed the door behind her. The office was enormous, which she didn't remember from their teenaged excursions around his house, from whenever Nathalie was busy in her own office. But maybe it was because Gabriel Agreste's presence made everything tenser. And the fact that this was serious now. She couldn't help but feel like she was being judged here. Well, she probably was.

The office's flor was a dark, polished stone. A carpet covered the area where Gabriel's desk rested, modern looking bookcases lining one of the walls. The room was bright, thanks to a large window that oversaw Paris' skyline, the Eiffel tower standing tall right in the center of it. She could see some awards on the wall, and some sketched of what she was sure were Gabriel's first designs. There was a small sitting area, but Gabriel was sitting on his desk, his eyes watching as she'd made her entrance.

To be quite honest, if this hadn't the most awkward situation in the world, Marinette would have loved to browse around and look at what Gabriel Agreste kept in his office. He probably had some antiques on the history of fashion… as it was, the designs framed on the walls were calling to her. But it was not something she could do… as it was, there was something else that needed to be done.

She spoke first. "Good afternoon, Monsieur Agreste,"

"Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng, please take a seat" the older man said, his eyes turning towards her briefly and then to the large seat in front of his desk.

Said desk was larger than any desk she'd ever seen, and quite possibly wouldn't be moved without the intervention of a whole squad of people. It seemed to be made out of solid stone. Shiny, glossy stone. Probably more expensive than everything she owned. Added together.

The young woman sat down, her back straight as she placed the bag by her side. She waited for him to speak, and it seemed that he was awaiting the same thing. In the end, she decided to break the silence. "I brought my portfolio, since I don't believe you have seen it before" Of course he hadn't. She hadn't applied for an internship here.

Gabriel nodded, and received the book that Marinette handed over to him, his finger tracing the spine of the bound book, clearly examining the presentation. After examining the book for another moment, he finally opened it. She figured she'd passed the first test. _Don't look nervous,_ she chastised herself. But she couldn't really help it, even if Gabriel hadn't been Adrien's father, He was an icon. Marinette would have killed for the chance of actually being granted an interview with him.

But Adrien _was_ in the picture; therefore there was much more to consider. Gabriel had not been a good parent. Sure, Adrien had been very well provided for, educated, and had been a celebrity since his early teens. His room had a climbing wall for crying out loud! But he hadn't been there. And Adrien had needed more than arcade games in his room. Gabriel's aloofness had hurt him, and she'd been there to see it; first as ladybug, and then as his partner in life.

It was odd to think just how different Adrien could have turned out, considering everything that went on in his life. He could have been a spoiled, bachelor, jet setting across the world, a beautiful actress or model on his arm… instead of living in the tiny apartment that he shared with Marinette, where he'd have to slouch slightly to make sure he wouldn't hit his head on the low ceiling.

The bottom line, was that Marinette _knew_ who Gabriel Agreste was, and just what he meant in her actual life. She wouldn't be rude, no… he was Adrien's father, after all… but she would not give him the pleasure of seeing her squirm. She was not the timid teenager at a school's design contest anymore.

Marinette looked at him as he carefully examined the pages, her hands demurely folded on her lap. He looked every bit as put together as she'd remembered, though his hair seemed to have greyed out even more. Granted, she'd only really met him via video and pictures; their only face to face interaction had been a curt introduction, during their Lycee graduation. Where she was barely acknowledged by the man.

Then, Adrien had that break from his father, moving out of the mansion and into their life together. Marinette had been there, while the blond dealt with all the issues that his father had left him. It hadnot been pretty. And it had not been easy. And just recently, a couple months ago, the older man had offered an olive branch, an attempt to talk to his son… Adrien, her lovely, kind, amazing Adrien had agreed, because despite everything he actually wanted his father to be a part of his life.

She guessed she had to understand, even if she couldn't completely relate. Her family was normal, by every standard, her parents were hard working people who had always given her the support she'd needed, and they'd welcomed Adrien with open arms.

But she figured that it just wasn't the same. There would always be that nagging doubt in Adrien's mind if he didn't at least try. This accounted for the couple of dinners Adrien had shared with his father, these past few months. Granted, it was a tense affair, even by Adrien's own admission, but it was something. And yes, Marinette was happy that he was finally reconnecting with his father, it was something he clearly had wanted; she was just wary.

God help that man if he ever hurt Adrien again.

All this made her wonder just why, she was sitting at the very Gabriel Agreste's office, pondering how to find out whether all her misgivings were true. Gabriel was still looking at her portfolio, probably the evening wear, if she remembered the order correctly. Still… it felt weird to be here.

Screw this. "I don't remember applying to your label, Monsieur," she spoke, sounding more confident than what she actually felt like.

His eyes left the book to look back at her. "You didn't" he answered. "I had my assistant call the Ecole's authorities to set it up."

Well, that made sense, if a label contacted asking for a specific student, she figured that they would try to set up the interview. Even if the student hadn't requested it. Gabriel was a former student, and was incredibly rich and famous in the fashion world… of course they were going to accommodate him. Still, she wasn't done with this yet "Why?" There had to be a lot of willing and eager people who would have loved a chance at this interview. People who would have applied for it.

"I do remember your work on that contest Mademoiselle Dupain Cheng," he said "You do have talent." His hand rested on top of the portfolio. "We could definitely use your talents at the label."

Well, that she could believe. She was among the top of her class, and the recommendations she'd gotten for all her interviews could ensure that she'd get at least a couple of offers. And if everything went well, maybe she'd get a job once she graduated. She had worked hard and she was proud of herself. The young woman nodded, but she said nothing, so Gabriel continued.

"The position would have you assisting our design team." He said "I see here that you're proficient with digital software as well. That's a good skill to have." His eyes scanned the resume, reading her skill set she'd listed. Marinette, however was yet to say anything. Gabriel took a breath, the look on Marinette's face was reluctant, to say the least. "This is a great opportunity" he pointed out. "May I ask then, why you came here, since you're evidently unsure?"

"I was curious," she said, no reason to hide her motives.

"It's not a secret that you are a very important person to my son" he said, the book still open, but resting flat on his desk.

"He is very important to me too." she pointed out. They had been together for around five years now; and while she wanted to get her foot into the design world, she wasn't about to sell Adrien out to get there. "Which is why I'm confused. You never cared much for me before."

There. _She'd said it._

Gabriel didn't seem surprised at that, his face betraying no emotion as he answered, "You'll have to forgive me for that. It's not the norm that young relationships last as long as yours has" He hadn't seen the reason to get to know Marinette. He'd figured that whatever was going on would be over before they started their upper education. But… here they were now…

Gabriel was a proud man. He had not looked for his son once he'd left; he'd figured he'd return once this relationship had ran its course. Once Adrien had gone through whatever rebellious stage he seemed to be going through. But then years began going by, and Adrien had stood by her. He'd seen the paparazzi pictures, Adrien on location, and the petite Mademoiselle Dupain Cheng by his side. It had brought echoes of another relationship, from what seemedcenturies ago.

To tell the truth, he'd been very surprised to find that Adrien kept on modelling, it had always been somewhat of a chore when he was younger. But he figured that bills needed to get paid, and he had enough contacts, talent and good looks to get good bookings. Granted, had Gabriel wanted, he could have easily blacklisted Adrien… he had enough influence that most photographers and other labels would have avoided him, but he hadn't. Adrien was his son, and despite not being the definition of a warm figure, he was not a monster.

If Marinette would have to say something about Gabriel, it would be that the older man was certainly intimidating. But she wasn't about to give up here… she hadn't been sure why she'd come here in the first place, but now that they were talking, she was definitely sticking up for her boyfriend. If Gabriel thought he could sway her into fighting in his corner by making what was a very good job proposal, he was sorely mistaken.

"Even if I were to take the internship" she began, stressing the 'if' part of the sentence "I won't help you reconnect with Adrien" That was Gabriel's job and his job alone, if he wanted it so much. "That's a decision that Adrien will make, and I support whatever he decides to do"

Marinette from five years ago would have just _kicked herself_. She was possibly dismissing a chance at one of the world's best fashion labels. And quite possibly offending someone with the power to destroy just about every bit of her dreams. Marinette from the present was sure of what she was saying.

Gabriel's left eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly. He knew that the girl was protective of Adrien, he'd heard it from good sources; he hadn't expected that she'd pull that on him. It would have made him laugh, considering the unimpressive size of the female sitting in front of him. Easy to ignore too, if it wasn't for the fact that the petite young woman was staring him down with a force that greatly mismatched her appearance.

"As I said before." Gabriel continued, leaning forward on his desk, addressing the young woman directly. "Yes. You are talented, and Adrien mentioned you were applying for internships."

"He did?" she said, clearly taken aback. She hadn't expected to have popped up during these conversations.

"He did. And I know the Ecole's curriculum. You have to take an internship as a requirement" Gabriel pointed out, his voice steady as he simply listed out the facts. Marinette needed an internship. She was talented which would be good for his company. Adrien didn't seem to take an interest in the creative aspect, and should this relationship prosper... well. It was the smart thing to do. "Adrien mentioned you had sent in your applications. I am offering you a position"

"But why now?"

"As I said… You are an important part of my son's life." Gabriel said "And I want my son back in my life. It would seem you're part of the package now."

* * *

In the end, Gabriel had reiterated the offer again; which she'd agreed to think about. She wasn't sure whether it was a good idea, but it was a little difficult to let go of one of your childhood dreams. She had walked towards the Metro station in a daze, as she finally made her way back home, her mind in turmoil at all the things that had happened today. She still couldn't quite process what had happened back at the Agreste Mansion, but she had come out of the mansion with a very good prospect. Working with the creative team, in a paid internship… that was the best possible scenario for everything. She wasn't sure that she could get a better offer in any of the other labels. She was also pretty sure that she would be among the few students who were offered an internship at Gabriel's label. If any. But what did it mean?

Gabriel had said that Adrien had talked about her with him, though he didn't go into specifics, and she didn't ask for them. And by simple math, Adrien's last dinner with his father had been somewhat two weeks ago, which would have given Gabriel the time to set everything up with the school.

But the question that plagued her mind was just one. Had Adrien asked for this? There was no one that knew just how much she wanted this in her life other than him, who saw firsthand just how much she worked to achieve her dreams. So, the question remained, was this some sort of retribution for all of Gabriel's shortcomings before? Adrien did know just how badly she wanted to succeed in the fashion design world. But not like this.

But he wouldn't... _would he?_

That would just negate everythng she'd done so far! She'd succeeded in school, and had worked all through her final year at the Lycee to build a proper portfolio to present at the Ecole for Admissions. She'd spent monthsof sleepless nights, between her school work, being ladybug keeping up with a somewhat normal social life and having a stable relationship.

Her hands had been full!

But she'd made it work; and now her schedule was filled with classes, working to pay for their bills and schooling (though her parents had decided to help her out with that, bless them for their help), her ladybug duties, old and new friends and the same relationship.

Her hands never _ceased_ being full.

There was a strange feeling in the middle of her chest; and she didn't want to think about it. But as it usually happens with feelings like this, it was all she could think about. She was sitting on the one available seat on the Metro, waiting for her stop when she felt a buzzing coming from inside her bag. Marinette opened her bag, looking down at Tikki's worried eyes. She picked up the phone, looking at the notification on the main screen.

 _Princess, how did the interview go?_

She didn't answer. Marinette wasn't sure how she could answer. She was about to place the phone back, but Tikki's worried glance got to her. Thankfully it was just their exit, so she stood up and walked out, exiting quickly through the crowds. Once she was back on the street, and Tikki was securely on the inside of her jacket, instead of the bag, Marinette picked up the phone and put it to her ear, mimicking a conversation "Tikki…"

"What's wrong?" the tiny kwami asked, the girl's behavior once they left the mansion had been worrying her all through the trip back home.

Marinette sighed, but decided to dive straight into it "I think Adrien asked his father to offer me that job" She waited for the kwami to say something, but there was silence so she continued "I don't need favors Tikki, I need this to happen because I'm good."

"You _are_ good though" Tikki said. "He should have told you before probably"

The young woman sighed, "I don't know Tikki, I mean, I hope that hewouldn't have done that, but… what if he did?"

"You need to talk to him" Tikki said "You're going twisty now"

"I know." Marinette sighed "We're almost home now, I guess we'll see now."

Because Adrien should know better than that. Marinette had managed to get a good reputation for her at school. She had earned everything. And she knew that the fact that she was dating Adrien might be seen by some other people has having an edge… which might be true, but she'd never used it. But this? She could just see people saying that she used her connections. Mainly because people weren't really aware of the rift between Adrien and his family; so it would make sense to think that he would pull some strings with his father.

Then again, not many people really knew Gabriel Agreste.

Her phone buzzed again, another text message coming through, she peeked at it, a frown taking over her face.

 _Are you getting home soon? I got some take out_

To tell the truth, she didn't really feel hungry now. She was far too preoccupied with everything to really enjoy whatever it was he'd gotten. She entered the old building, sparing halfhearted greeting to the neighbors she ran into as she walked towards the elevator to the last floor, where their apartment was located and opened the door. "I'm home!" she called out.

"Kitchen!"

Marinette kicked off her shoes and walked towards the kitchen, from where she could hear plates moved around; Adrien was serving out what she could figure was the food he'd gotten.

"Hey princess" he said, "How did everything go?"

"It went good" she said, her voice cautious as she sat on the stools by the table.

"You look weird" Adrien pointed out, as he placed at plate in front of Marinette "Did something happen?"

"I met with your father"

Adrien froze in the spot. "You… did?" he said, green eyes glancing curiously at his girlfriend. He was pretty sure she hadn't applied to his father's company; she would have told him if she had. At least he thought she would. "I didn't know you wanted to try there"

Marinette frowned, he was being weird about this, and she was sure "I didn't. He set it up" Adrien's eyes widened and Marinette continued "called the ecole, and got it set up," she explained "It was added to my interview's schedule today".

Well, he had mentioned it. Marinette had popped up quite a bit during his last conversation with his father, and Gabriel had asked several questions that Adrien was not ready to relay to her right now. Just what had his father told Marinette? The blond looked shifted uncomfortably in his spot. "What… uh… what did he want?" he asked, hoping his voice didn't betray any nervousness.

 _It did._ Marinette could just see that he looked shifty. Blue eyes studied him carefully, he was acting weird today, and he really was. "He offered me a position."

He looked positively relieved. "Well, that's good, isn't it?"

"It would have been, but I didn't apply for it!" Marinette exclaimed, standing up from her seat, definitely not approving of the way Adrien looked so at ease with the idea. "What did you say to him?"

"We just talked!" Adrien said, confused green eyes looking at his girlfriend. "I don't get why you're being weird about that!"

"Because…" Marinette exhaled loudly, her brows furrowed in exasperation "I didn't ask for that, there's a reason I didn't!"

Now, Adrien was sure his father had said something that he shouldn't other than the job offer, he wasn't exactly sure what had happened."Marinette?"

"I don't need that kind of help Adrien," She continued, After looking at the look on his face, she pushed her plate away from her "I'm just… not hungry right now." She said, and stood up, set on going to her room.

"Mar… Marinette!" he called after her, stopping by the kwami's resting spot, addressing the tiny red one "Tikki, what did just happen?"

The red kwami floated until she was able to land on his shoulder. "She thinks you asked your father to help her"

"… But I didn't..." Adrien said, frowning in confusion.

Tikki gave the blond a look… well, he looked sincere, maybe he needed a bit of help here. "Well, he sounded like he was definitely doing this for you"

The blond sighed loudly as he ran his hand through his hair. Everything was beginning to piece itself together in his head, but that didn't help the fact that he had a very upset woman to deal with. "I see now" he said, "Thanks Tikki."

"No problem" the kwami answered before flying off again, pausing a little to hover in front of him "I don't think she wants people to think she can't do it on her own"

"I … can see that" Adrien sighed, he knew her well enough to know that it was a reaction she would definitely have. "I'm going to talk to her," he said, before picking up Tikki and placing her on their little home.

The door to their bedroom was closed and Adrien braced himself. Good God, he _loved_ that woman, but she could go crazy sometimes. It probably had to do with the stress of the applications and interviews, but _seriously_. She could work herself up without any help from him whatsoever. And it was times like these that she made herself so hard to reach, which meant… the longer he let her stew in it, the worse it could get.

He had a long night ahead.

The blond knocked on the door, "Marinette…" he began "Can I come in?"

"No. I'm changing." came the answer from inside, making Adrien blink repeatedly.

"… I have _literally_ lost count of how many times I've seen you naked." He deadpanned. He knew the amount and locations of birthmarks on her. He'd _drawn_ on said birthmarks _and_ helped wash it off. It was safe to say that other than times they wanted to surprise one another, clothes changing was rarely an ocasion to be shy.

A loud huff was heard from the other side of the door, but she didn't reply, so Adrien opened the door carefully. First, she was certainly not changing. And second, judging by the way she purposefully avoided his glance, she did not want to talk right now. Adrien leaned against the doorframe, successfully blocking the way out.

Marinette stood in front of the door, her blue eyes regarding him carefully, and he just knew that she was thinking an escape plan. "Nope." he said, the p sound popping loudly and earning him an annoyed look from his girlfriend. "We're talking." Well, Good. She was being irrational, he'd be annoying. Maybe that way she'd talk.

Marinette eyed him, she did not want to do this now. Her eyes turned towards the large window… perhaps she could transform and just leave hisstubborn meddling face for a while. "I don't want to talk about it." She said, before she realized that Tikki was in the kitchen, damn it all. There went that plan.

"What did my father say?" Adrien pressed; he got the basics from Tikki, but she needed to talk to him, for crying out loud.

"I… you're _so_ stubborn!"

"Me?!" Adrien stammered, "I'm trying to talk to you, woman!" he threw his hands in the air, unsuspectedly providing just enough room for Marinette to slip through. "Oh no" he said, before reaching for Marinette and doing the first thing that popped into his brain and wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her back against his chest, and his other arm wrapped across his shoulders.

There were many errors to this strategy, thus proving that there was a reason Ladybug was the strategist and not Chat Noir.

Marinette was quick to point the first flaw in his plan. "Adrien I will bite you if you don't let me through."

"And I will enjoy It." he deadpanned, not able to resist the opportunity, and judging by the low sigh that left her, she did not appreciate his humor right now. "Mar, this is stupid, talk to me"

She still didn't seem convinced, but deflated considerably, which he took as a small victory, before he led her back to their bedroom, closing the door behind them.

"Alright" He said, running his hand through his hair "Are you mad because of the job offer?" He asked, because… while Tikki explained, he wanted her to explain just exactly what set her off. His father was certainly not warm and fuzzy like Marinette's parents were; and Gabriel's extremely curt manners could easily lend themselves to confusion from time to time. But even if hehad asked for that favor, (which, he hadn't), he didn't think it was that big of a deal.

"Yes."

"I thought that getting an offer was a good thing?"

Marinette sighed "You don't get it." she began, "I didn't ask for that. I would have applied if I wanted."

"I didn't ask my father to give you that job" he said, watching as her expression turned confused "But if I did, would it be so bad?"

She gave him a tired look, "Adrien, you don't see it. But I do." she said, "I've worked so hard for this" So many sleepless nights sewing or cleaning up her designs to present them at class; she had subsisted mainly on coffee for days at a time during the end of the semester, (It was the main reason they had splurged on a good coffee machine; cheap alternatives just weren't cutting it). "And I know I can make it. But there's always going to be people that say and think that I got where I am because you model, or because of your father's connections." Even if that wasn't the truth, she had definitely seen some odd looks headed in her direction, and she didn't want a dark cloud hanging on top of her tentative success. She'd seen the way people looked at her and Adrien when they attended events together. "Even if he didn't do anything, people are going to think he did" There was a reason she hadn't built her portfolio with Adrien's help. It would have gotten attention immediately in every interview she took, but she was not going to do that.

"I can't change who I am" Despite the fact that he was distanced from his father, he was still known as Gabriel Agreste's son; and while that had helped him greatly with modelling gigs, and paying the bills; there was a reason he wasn't going into fashion as a career."And screw other people. There will always be someone acting like a asshole."

"I know" she said, her voice quieter and thankfully lacking the exasperated edge it had earlier tonight. "The way he said it… I just thought that…"

"We did talk about you" he offered, "but nothing like that" Gabriel had asked Adrien, just how serious his relationship was. Adrien had, of course, replied that it was very, very serious. Marinette was definitely a permanent part of his life, and Adrien had no issues explaining to his father the _extent_ of her permanence.

The older man had then asked him how her schooling was going, which was when he told him that she was setting up her interviews for the internships. Despite their attempts, conversation had never quite flowed between the two of them, so after saying his piece, they kept on discussing other matters. "I did say that you were going to start your internships soon, but I didn't ask him to give you one" From what little information he could gather, this had been Gabriel's attempt to get to know Marinette.

She was silent for a couple of seconds, "I don't want anything I haven't earned." She finally replied.

"Mari, you know very damned well, that even if you didn't have what it takes, I could have begged and it wouldn't have made a difference if he didn't want to hire you." Family or no family, the brand was something Gabriel took _very_ seriously, and Adrien had first hand knowledge of the fact. He probably was impressed with her work; after all, he had been wearing a jacket she'd made during their last interaction. Gabriel had examined it thoroughly during what had been a very awkward five minutes. "Besides, you don't have to take it, you know" Chance were, that she'd get more offers soon.

"I know." Marinette said, shoulders dropping slightly "It was hard though; I didn't want to think about you doing that, because I know you better than that, but then your father said how you talked about me and all that and I couldn't help but think that..."

"Then _think_ about It." he shrugged, "you do have to choose an internship. And at least it's good to have one secure offer." He regarded the look on her face "And you are kind of a big deal in my day, you know. I'm obviously going to bring you up from time to time"

"I guess…" Marinette rubbed her right hand up her left arm, her face deep in thought. It was this whole _Gabriel_ thing, really. He had never really been involved in their lives, but it seemed that that fact might be about to change.

"You always do this when you're stressed, you know. You fixate on one thing and then make a big deal about it" he mused, "You could have just asked me. I didn't even know you were going there today." He looked at his girlfriend, who looked a right mixture between embarrassed and still clinging to the las remaining shred of the dignity of a (not so) rightful anger. "Can I touch you without you biting me?" he asked flashing amused green eyes at her, thoroughly enjoying the guilty look on her face.

"I wasn't _really_ going to bite you" she said, a faint blush tinging her cheeks as she regarded the look on his face _"…that hard"_ To tell the truth she might have, especially if it meant that she'd be able to get him off her back to continue ruminating in her anger. "And if you didn't ask him for the job, then why did you get weird when I asked you about it?" she asked, just as Adrien stood up from their spot on the bed.

"Come on, let's go finish dinner" he said, the expression on his face showing pure amusement as he stretched his hand to help her back on her feet. "Liar. You always bite." he said, laughing as he pulled her back up, and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her back to his chest as he led her back to the kitchen. "I mean, I don't _mind_ the nibbles, but I have a photoshoot on Friday. It would have been cat-astrophic" He felt her freeze next to him, so in turn he tightened his hold around her waist, nuzling her neck innocently.

"Adrien…" she warned. So help her if he started with the stupid puns…

"What?" he asked, innocently, biting back the chuckles that threatened to spill out. He brushed his lips agaisnt her neck, smiling against her skin, knowing fully well the path he was going now would close that door for tonight. "I'm just saying, It would have been…"

"Don't"

"… _Clawful_." Adrien laughed as Marinette untangled herself from his arms muttering something about how she was not dealing with this right now,and called after her "Oh come on Purrncess!" he continued. "I'm just kitten"

"STOP!" her voice came from the kitchen, and Adrien grinned, quite pleased with himself. Sure, it was cheesy as hell… but at least the puns had gotten her sidetracked from that previous line of questioning. Adrien wasn't ready to explain just exactly what he thought his father had mentioned to her. There was more he needed before they could go down that road.


	2. Chapter 2

Adrien had a very simple morning routine. After his shower, he turned on the coffee machine (If Marinette hadn't done so before), and then he got dressed and was out the door in around 30 minutes; holding a fresh cup of coffee as he went on his day. Now, Adrien liked sleeping in, especially since there was a warm and sleepy Marinette next to him; so he had mastered the art of time management. This meant that he would always get out of bed in the last possible second, and _still_ be in time to wherever he had to go.

Today, was an oddity, but thankfully, towards the other side of the spectre. Today he was ready to go and there were still _twenty five more minutes_ until he actually had to leave. Adrien blamed his nerves; he was going to visit Marinette's parents right after he was done with Class, so he was a _little_ on edge.

He was currently pouring ungodly amounts of sugar into his coffee mug when Marinette appeared into the kitchen "You're up early." she muttered, stretching as she reached for the coffee mug that Adrien instantly offered "Thanks," She kissed his cheek before leaning back against the kitchen counter.

"I miscalculated," he explained, shrugging with what he _hoped_ was nonchalance, and Marinette nodded. "Why are _you_ up?" He was _pretty_ sure she didn't have early classes today. He knew because there had been plenty of days where he'd just wanted to curl back into bed with her, until she'd push him out, promising that he'd get his reward _later,_ if he was a good kitty.

"I'm going to work on some projects I have." she said, both hands clasping the coffee mug, relishing in the warmth, "Then… class after lunch. We have to present next week…"

Adrien gave his girlfriend a weary look, he could see right through her. "Mari, that project has been done for weeks," he said, reaching for the coffee cup, ready to usher her back into bed "You should get some sleep."

She looked thoughtful for a second, and Adrien realized immediately what was going through her head. Sometimes, Marinette would say yes and head back to bed, even if she got up the moment he closed the door; but it seemed today she was not even going to try that. "You'd get up the moment I'd close the door, wouldn't you."

"Yup!"

He snorted, and looked at his watch. Time to go! "Crazy woman," he said, leaning down to kiss her quickly "I'll be back for dinner. Love you!" he added, before grabbing his book bag and heading for the door.

She raised her coffee mug at him in a mock toast, "Love you too!"

* * *

His classes were finally over and despite what Adrien had told Marinette earlier, he was _not_ going to his study group; instead heading towards the Dupain Cheng's home.

Sabine opened the door, her grey eyes twinkling happily at him, "Adrien, dear!" she said, quickly ushering him in quickly, the door closing behind him. "Are you on your own today?" she asked

"Ah, yes". Adrien said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously "Marinette's working on some school stuff at home." The tall blond shuffled his feet, "Is Mr… _Tom_ busy?"

"At the shop," she answered, a knowing look crossing her face, "should I go get him?" the woman asked, and at his nod, she patted his arm softly, "He'll be right up then" she said, before waving towards the seats "go sit down sweetie, you know you are not a guest in this house"

"Uh…" Adrien began, "you should probably stay too?" He hated how nervous his voice sounded, but there was not much he could do about it right now.

Sabine smiled at him, "I'm ninety percent sure I know what _this_ is," She told him, an amused look flashing on her face at his flustered expression. "And you know what I think. Besides, I'll just close up downstairs and I'll be right up." She patted his arm and sent him towards the living room.

He nodded, walking towards one of the chairs in the living room, fidgeting nervously as he waited for Tom to arrive. His hands fidgeted with the handle on his book bag. There, inside of the bag safe inside a tiny little box; kept inside what was now a very wallet, was the reason for his visit…

"Adrien!" Tom's voice snapped him out of his daydreaming, and he stood up to greet the older man. "Nice of you to drop by!"

"Sir…" he began, before the other man gave him the usual look. Force of habit, despite all the time he'd known the man, there was a switch in his head that referred to _every single_ male authority figure in his life as _Sir._ It was hard to break out of that mindset; especially when he was this nervous. _"Tom,"_ Adrien said, a sheepish smile on his face.

"Honestly son, after _all these_ years; I'd think we're past the _sir"_ Tom said, a gentle look on his face as he sat down across the young man. "What brings you here today?"

The blond took a deep breath, attempting to ease his nerves, "I want to ask Marinette to marry me." he blurted out; he was far too nervous to beat around the bush with this particular subject.

Tom didn't look surprised at all, simply replying, "I'd _think_ this is a question for Marinette."

Adrien chuckled nervously, "I know, but…" he began, "I can't ask her unless I _know_ you two approve." It just wouldn't feel right.

Once Adrien had his final break from his father, he'd been left with virtually nothing. His trust fund was locked and out of reach until he turned twenty one and fulfilled the requirements set by her Mother's estate; so it was _not_ an option. And with the bitter way he'd left his father's house… he was not asking Gabriel for help, and considering his father's pride, Gabriel was not going to offer any help. So they were left at a standstill.

The teenager had ended up selling a couple of belongings, and crashed on friend's couches for a while. But the truth was that he had no actual income, so despite the help and all the good intentions surrounding him… he was completely out of money after a short time; which was something that had _never_ happened in his life.

His friends encouraged him to get in touch with a people in the fashion industry; and in the end, he had managed to get signed back into an agency. He hadn't ever worked for one before; since he only modelled for Gabriel's label, he'd never _needed_ an agent.

It took a couple of months between his signing and his first booking, meaning that he still didn't have any income, which in turn meant that he couldn't support himself. It was then when Tom and Sabine had simply set up a guestroom in a small empty room in their home, and told him he was free to stay for as long as he needed to.

Granted, the room came with a very awkward parental talk about _boundaries,_ and _rooftop curfews,_ but he couldn't find it in him to care, he'd just been so grateful at the gesture. And meanwhile, as a way to help, Adrien had begun helping in the bakery, mostly with sales, which made both Tom and Sabine joke about the sudden increase in female teenaged customers.

After a little under a year, with both of them half settled into adulthood, they'd taken the step to move in together into their shoe box of an apartment. Still, Adrien and Marinette would drop by the bakery at least once a week, either for dinner or just to visit, and Adrien was grateful for the chance to interact as a normal family. .

"I don't think Marinette needs my blessing" Tom said, if there was something the older man knew, was just how fiercely independent his daughter was.

"I know. But… I wanted to" he rubbed the back of his neck, feeling his face heat up. They had been more _family_ to him than his father had in years. Despite the fact that he knew that he didn't _need_ their approval or blessing; it was just something that he _wanted_. Tom and Sabine had been more family to him during these years he'd been with Marinette, than his father had since he could remember, they were more present _too._

"Son, If I didn't think you were worthy to be with my daughter, you'd already _know_ " Tom said, the man had actually helped the couple move in together. "But I will make you a couple of questions"

The older man shifted in his seat, the expression on his face serious and thoughtful. It was easy to be intimidated by Tom, his large frame was _enough;_ so if Tom _tried_ even in the slightest bit to be scary… he could very well succeed. Hell, when Adrien met Marinette's parents, Tom had put on his best _dad-glare,_ and he'd been terrified. That lasted all of ten seconds before Sabine and Marinette told Tom to _leave him alone, it was not funny_.

"Do you love my daughter?" his voice was unusually serious, even if his eyes betrayed his gentle demeanor.

"Yes"

"Do you want to make her happy?"

"Of course" Adrien replied. This wasn't even up for discussion.

"Are you going to stick with her _even_ when she goes a little bit kooky?" Tom asked, a playful look on his face.

Adrien chuckled, the memory of the previous night loud and clear in his mind. "Yes"

"Are you _sure?_ Cheng women can be a bit of a handful." he said "I personally think that's why they're not very tall. To _compensate_."

"Tom!" Sabine's voice came from the kitchen, "I _heard_ that!"

"I _know dear!"_ Tom said, flashing an amused smile at Adrien, "That's what you get for _eavesdropping!_ " the baker turned back towards Adrien, his smile turning gentler as he spoke "Son, You're already part of the family, might as well make it official. I'm sure there's nothing I can tell you that you don't already know about my girl."

"Thank you Tom"

He waved off Adrien's thanks, "Now, you already have a ring?" he asked, and Adrien scrambled to get the small box from his bag.

The box itself was new, a slim one that would be easier to hide when he was home, but the ring itself, it was old. "It was my mother's" he said. Adrien hadn't asked much from his father, but this was something he really wanted Marinette to have. It had been in his family for a fair amount of generations, having belonged to his grandmother before and so on.

"She's going to love it." Tom said, before looking towards the other room, "Sabine?" he called out, "come here, Adrien has news!"

"Yes dear?" the woman said, carrying a tray with coffee, setting it on the table, before sitting on the sofa's arm rest. "What news?" she asked, a knowing smile on her face.

A nervous Adrien simply showed the open box to Sabine, waiting for the older woman's verdict.

"Adrien, it looks amazing." She told him, smiling warmly at him. "Dear, you know we absolutely love you and we could not be happier. Now, to the important questions; _when_ are you going to ask her?"

Feeling like a huge weight had been dropped off of his shoulders, Adrien smiled and went on with his plans.

* * *

 _The Eiffel tower._ It was, after all, one of the most romantic places in the _world._ So he had thoroughly researched it on his laptop; and after deciding on a plan…. he had suggested a date night. He was going to propose overlooking the Parisian night.

Every single review he'd read said it was one of _the_ spots to propose in Paris; and all the reviews and enthusiastic comments had to be at least a _little right._

The weather was getting chillier by the day, which meant the duo had to bundle up for their trip; especially since nightfall was right around the corner. _Good_. Adrien wanted the most romantic backdrop for tonight. Marinette was snuggled up to his side, wearing a dark green coat that she'd made for one of her classes. As was he, currently bundled up in one of her latest creations, one of the perks of dating a very talented seamstress.

"You know," Marinette began, "I've lived my whole life in Paris, and I can count in one hand the amount of times I've visited the tower."

"Well" he began "We've been here before…" They had, while on patrol, but they didn't really go to the tourist floors, instead finding different nooks and places where they could relax while keeping the city safe. Their favorite spot was high in the tower, cozy and safe enough for them to cuddle in and enjoy the view without being seen or bothered by other people.

"True" she conceded, "But we can't really go to that spot as civilians," she added, her blue eyes flashing up to see if she could find their spot from where they were currently standing. "I can't really see it from here though…"

Adrien looked at her, her head craned up to try and find the spot where they snuck at sometimes during their patrolling. She'd wrapped her arms around his waist, for _warmth,_ she'd said; which was probably not true, since he knew just how good her coat was, but he couldn't find it in him to care.

"You're so _cute._ " he said, looking down at her with a goofy smile on his face. She grinned up at him and he felt his chest burst with happiness. He _loved_ this woman, _so much_ that he knew that he was making the right decision. "You know I love you, right?"

She laughed, her eyes twinkling as she looked up at him "I love you too, silly kitty" she said, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him softly.

This was it, he realized. It was all he needed. "I…" he began, but before he could go on…

"YES. YES I WILL MARRY YOU!" Both their attentions were drawn to the couple standing a few feet away from them. The people surrounding them, friends and tourist alike clapped for the newly engaged couple, and they couldn't help and joined in.

Well, _that moment was ruined_. Adrien figured, the box still tucked safely into his wallet. Today was clearly not the day.

-.-.-.

Adrien was feeling a little bit discouraged after the Eiffel incident, even if Marinette was still none the wiser. But he knew that he needed to wait for the best moment… this was _important._ That didn't mean that Adrien didn't carry the ring _wherever_ he went; because he did. The ring was far too important for him not to have him near him at all times.

Today, they had a small get together in his apartment; read, Alya and Nino had dropped by, carrying gifts of wine, beer and snacks. As usual, the friends entered their apartment as if they lived there; and began getting things ready.

Nino had gone back into the living room, carrying some chips and talking animatedly with Marinette about his latest trip to Barcelona. Meanwhile, Adrien was getting the glasses from inside their cabinets, helping Alya get whatever they'd need.

"Adrien, where's the… never mind, there it is" she picked up the bottle opener; "You'll get the rest of the glasses?" she asked, as she tried to pick up the two wine bottles with one hand, and two glasses with the other one.

He reached for the bottles, wordlessly taking them away before she attempted the walk to their living room. He would much rather not having to find out whether wine stains were truly that hard to remove from rugs. His phone beeped loudly in his pocket and Adrien held up a finger at Alya, "Hold on," he said, as he reached into his back pocket to get out his cellphone, his wallet tumbling out with a small thud, revealing the small box.

He reached down as fast as humanly possible before turning his gaze towards Alya, just knowing that she'd seen the whole thing. Widened green eyes met shocked brown and Alya's reaction was immediate. "Oh my _G…!"_ the rest of the sentence was muffled, as Adrien covered her mouth with his hand and dragged her as far away from the living room, where Marinette was. Adrien could hear her chattering animatedly with Nino, which meant that she'd probably hadn't heard anything just yet. But considering how small their apartment was… the living room was really not that far away from where he was right now.

"SHHHH" he hissed. "She doesn't know yet" Which he expected was _obvious,_ since the ring was still _inside the box,_ and not on her finger.

"When?"

"I am _trying!"_ Adrien said; "but we _keep getting interrupted"_

Alya rolled her eyes "This is why you tell the best friend!" she explained, motioning around her face, "I am useful! I can create moments!" she hissed back at him, before glancing around, checking if Marinette was anywhere near them. "Can I see it?"

"No!" Adrien said, nervous eyes glancing towards the general direction of the living room as he shoved the ring back into his pocket. He needed to be more careful, really. "You'll have to wait until it _happens!"_ Adrien just _knew_ that with his luck, Marinette would enter the room just as he opened the box to show Alya.

"Well… _boo_." Alya said, but didn't press any further. "Well, at least know that she has _no idea._ " she told him, "She would definitely mention if she'd seen _that_ box." she added, her voice lowered into a whisper.

Well, he figured that much was right. If Marinette even had an inkling of what his plans were, Alya would have been informed. So that was a relief.

"What are you planning?" Alya asked, brown eyes glinting in excitement. "Is it big?"

"We're going to _Le Ciel De Paris_ on Friday night."

Alya nodded, an appreciative look on her face, " _Fancy_!"

He shrugged, bashfulness evident on his face. He was still nervous about the whole thing, but hopefully, the venue was right this time. "People keep saying it's really good, and she mentioned wanting to go…" he told her, before wagging a finger in Alya's direction. "Not a word! Not even to Nino."

"Of course not" she said, patting his arm, as she picked up the glasses, ready to head back to the living room "I'll make sure she stays as clueless as ever. But you have to _promise_ that she'll call me the _second it happens!_ "

He wondered how he was going to make her call her parents and Alya at the same time, but this was not the time to discuss that. "I will, I will!"

* * *

 _Le Ciel De Paris_ was an absolutely stunning place. Tall windows let them look to the outside Parisian night, the lit Eifel tower proudly standing in the middle. The lighting was carefully crafted to give the crowded restaurant an intimate look, and it helped each table to feel like it was the only table in the whole restaurant.

However, Adrien was getting a bit nervous. Sure, it was very fancy; and yes, the food was great. Which they had confirmed with their entrees and now their main course. But it just didn't feel _right._ Even if he was sure that no one was really looking at them, he felt like he was on display on the small table by the windows.

Thankfully, their evening was going very well. The food was absolutely delicious and the attention was top notch. Marinette was absolutely having a great time, and it was really fun to treat themselves like that. Even if they weren't as strapped for cash as they were when they just moved in together; and even if they could afford some evenings like this, Adrien and Marinette rarely splurged like this.

He thought it was worth it though.

"In a scale from one to ten," She began, her expression serious and thoughtful. "How bad would it look that we took a selfie to send to Alya?" by the end of her question the smile on her face was bright and playful, and even if he _had_ been embarrassed by the question; which he definitely wasn't, he would have agreed anyway.

He snorted, and reached for her phone, which she handed over quickly. Adrien was usually in charge of selfie duty… His arms were longer. "Scoot closer," he instructed, and she did, even if their shuffling around was louder than they expected it to be; and she leaned her head on his shoulder, her fingers touching his jaw lightly as they both beamed at the camera.

A couple of clicks later, they both returned to their places and Marinette was looking at the photos, a soft smile on her lips as she observed the screen, her finger swiping between the pictures. They were both very similar and she loved them both. Her head was leaning on his shoulder, her pretty tea rose colored dress contrasting nicely with her hair and her eyes. Adrien's smile was bright and the black dress shirt he wore only accentuated the green in his eyes. The only difference between the pictures was the in one of them he was clearly kissing her temple. Behind them, the window showed the gorgeous backdrop behind them. It was a really good picture. Both of them were.

"I'm printing this one." She told him, proudly putting the phone back in her purse, and soon they were able to hear the faint sounds of candy crush's theme as Tikki entertained herself inside Marinette's purse. She opened it quickly and helped the kwami lower the volume before turning her attention back to Adrien. "This is a really good table." she told him, "How did you get it in such short notice?"

Well, technically it wasn't _that_ short notice, but she didn't know that. "Pull the model card."

"Ah." Marinette snorted, and lifted her wine glass to him in a mock cheer. "Well, it was a great play." She put her glass down, clearly remembering something. "Oh, did Nino tell you?" she began, clearly excited about what she'd just remembered. "when he came over earlier this week…." She stopped, once she noticed something was amiss. "What?" she mouthed, looking as Adrien glanced over her shoulder.

Adrien saw them before they actually approached. He heard them first too, but it was a skill honed after years and years of dealing with fangirls. Two girls, probably sisters and definitely not older than eighteen years old were looking at them in the least subtle way possible. They were clearly trying to talk themselves into approaching them.

 _"That's him!"_ They stage whispered to each other, and Marinette nodded, having clearly heard them and understanding why the look on his face had changed so much.

"What do we do?" Marinette whispered, doing a far better job at being subtle than the two girls, and Adrien gave a small shrug.

 _"Is that his girlfriend?"_ The not so hushed whispers were clearly debating whether or not approaching them was the right thing to do.

Adrien was doing the best he could to keep a normal expression on his face, and Marinette patted his hand lightly. It wasn't the first time something like this had happened, and to be honest, all they could hope was that they _behaved._ It was the only way they would get back to their dinner.

They finally approached them, standing nervously by their table. They were both obviously nervous, but there was clearly one that had _pushed_ the other for this meeting, the other one was clearly glad to be there, but just going along. That was the one who spoke. "Hi… are you _The_ _Adrien_ _Agreste_?" her voice lowered into a hushed whisper as she waited for his confirmation.

Adrien flashed them a charming smile, which was the usual when they were approached. "Hey," he said, "nice to meet you both."

Two teenaged girls shook in excitement, before holding up a phone. "Can we take a picture with you?"

Adrien looked towards Marinette, who simply held out her hand towards the girl. "I'll take it the picture," she told them, and the girl passed her the phone with a grateful smile. "Are you ready?" The girls squished next to Adrien, one on each side of him and held on to his arms as Marinette snapped a few pictures, before handing back the phone.

"You're so lucky oh my God!" the one who was clearly more excited, gushed to Marinette, as she looked at the picture on her phone's screen.

"Thank you so much," the other one said to both, before tugging on her _probably-sister's_ arm and tugging her away. "Have a great evening!"

The couple watched the girls leave, a flutter of giggles and hushed whispers. Adrien turned to Marinette, "I'm sorry," Adrien said, he always felt so awkward about being approached by people when they were out.

"They were _nice_ ," Marinette laughed, they had encountered a couple of mean fangirls during their time together; the glares did _nothing_ to her by now. "They were cute about it!"

"They'd be all over _you,_ if they knew better," Adrien pointed out; even if Hawkmoth had been defeated, they still patrolled the city; crime levels had dropped considerably now that they could devote their time to just watching out for _regular_ crime, and not magic created incidents.

Still, the fact remained, Ladybug was the main hero out of the duo. She was so much more famous than Chat, which he didn't really mind; because Chat Noir still was a refuge from his normal life. And while his every day was _so much_ better than before, it was a fun way to hide from the public persona that Adrien Agreste was.

"Pfft." She laughed, "I'm fine with the anonymity."

Considering how long it took him to find out her civilian identity, he knew it was the truth. But the fact remained. With the little interruption they just had, he had decided against going through with the plan for tonight. Which was a little bit of a shame, considering just how beautiful the scenery looked from the window besides them. The restaurant was really too public, too exposed, and the idea of having people live tweet his proposal was enough to make him shudder.

It would have to be _another_ day.

* * *

Since Adrien had started seeing Marinette during their school years, he started tagging along to their family celebrations. Marinette's parents had immediately welcomed him, which meant that he started joining in many, many traditions. Which brought them to where they were today. The _Village de Noel_ at the _Champs Élysées_.

It was a yearly tradition; where they looked at the market and different trinkets they sold. They usually played on the games, took a few pictures to add to the growing amount that currently hang in both their homes, and basically had a fun family filled day.

Marinette had a tradition with her dad; where they'd go on their own for a while, to buy presents for Sabine, and of of course, Adrien too. The first time that it happened; Adrien could see how nervous Marinette was about leaving him with her mom, but Adrien, not one to _willingly_ inconvenience anyone had simply said it was okay.

He had been _so_ _nervous_ , but did his best not to show it. But Sabine was a wise woman, and had simply bought them some hot beverages and led him to a bench, explaining how it was a tradition that started when Marinette was barely old enough to speak. Tom would take her to a stand, and she'd pick a little something for them to give her mother on Christmas day. They just kept that up for years, even when Marinette could go on her own.

It was kind of cute, really. And such a foreign concept too, given what his family life had been. But moments like this, made the transition into living with the Dupain-Chengs, even if it wasn't for that long, so much easier. Both Tom and Sabine had welcome him with open arms, and he loved them both equally.

But Sabine's calm brand of mothering had helped him though rough patches, when he hadn't wanted to bother Marinette. Because even if he'd known that it was the right choice, and he knew that Marinette had his back a hundred percent and _more,_ there were things that he didn't want to bother her about inmediately.

Because even if he had moved out of his family home, even if he knew that he was doing so much better, and that thing were going to be _okay_ , he still missed his father. It was _all he'd known_ for so long.

There had been days when he waited till the whole family was asleep to pace around the house, his mind reeling with the fact that he _still_ missed his father; and thinking about how _maybe_ Gabriel would finally say something, and that things would fix themselves. It didn't happen, which made him even more miserable.

But it was then, with Adrien could only call Sabine's _Mom Sense_ ; he'd hear Sabine get up from bed and head over to the kitchen. The older woman would simply put the kettle on and made some chamomile tea, which they ended up drinking in silence. She never asked, and never pushed, but by the third time it had happened, he had finally broken down and told her everything that was troubling him. How he missed his father, how he knew that it was messed up, because Gabriel had not been a parent to him in years, and how he was terrified about everything that the future held.

Tom had been a father to him, the burly man had been everything that he's seen fathers could be in movies. Tom had even tried to teach him how to make some patisseries, which then led them all to the conviction that he was better off helping as a cashier.

Tom had even taught _both_ to drive; both Adrien and Marinette taking turns in an empty parking lot. Turns out that Marinette's quick Ladybug reflexes _did_ carry on her civilian self, and Tom had not been expecting to be exposed to _that_ amount of adrenaline in one afternoon. They just had the _one_ lesson.

Adrien would never stop teasing her about it.

But his bond with Sabine was closer. Maybe it had been the fact that he'd been so starved for family love, that when he started seeing Marinette, he'd not only completely fallen in love with the girl, but her family as well. And Sabine's brand of mothering had been just what he'd needed to help him get in gear and back on feet.

"Anything on your mind?" she asked him.

Adrien sighed, he knew this question had been coming. "I haven't asked her yet."

"I thought so," Sabine said, "I would hope that you would have both called use if it had happened." She patted his arm, a small smile on her face as she looked at the dejected expression on his face. "Why not?"

He exhaled loudly, looking ahead as people walked by them, "It just doesn't feel… great?" He paused, trying to find a way to express what he meant, "I've thought of ways and I've planned them, but they don't _feel_ right. And when they do, something happens and everything is ruined." Like other people proposing _loudly_ first.

He wasn't able to decipher just what the look on Sabine's face meant; as the older woman nodded and sipped her hot chocolate. "What have you tried?"

"We went to the Eiffel tower…" he began, recounting, "And last week we went to _Le Ciel De Paris_ " He covered his face with his hands and added, "There was another time, but I forgot the ring at home."

"Ahh." Her voice was understanding, if not slightly amused, and Adrien didn't _get it._ Sabine patted his arm affectionately, "Alright, I'm going to give you a little bit of advice," Her face took on a small wistful look, as she clearly went down memory lane. "I actually remember the exact moment I realized I wanted to marry Tom."

"Really?" Adrien asked, a gentle smile on his face. Tom and Sabine were quite possibly what he considered as _relationship goals_ , meaning that he would take their advice very seriously.

"Yes. Even if it was so long ago…" She laughed, "It wasn't a big moment, you know. But it's those moments that matter the most. We were at my parents' house, and he was learning how to cook… I don't remember what it was, but he was failing spectacularly." She chuckled, the memory vivid in her head, "but he was trying so hard, that it was just endearing. He was trying to win my parents over, but that was the moment I realized that I was going to marry him. Even if he hadn't even asked."

Adrien grinned, knowing how _that_ felt. His _aha_ moment was somewhat similar, even if he'd been absolutely enamored of Ladybug for years. It was all the _Marinette_ things that made him sure that he wanted to spend his life with her. "How did he propose?" Adrien asked, since he felt like he really needed pointers in that matter.

Sabine laughed, "We didn't have a lot of money back then," she began, her eyes glancing down at her wedding band, "He had just started working, but we wanted to get married, and my parents weren't as _cool_ as we are. They wouldn't have let me move in with him."

"You two _are_ very cool," Adrien agreed, a small smile on his face.

"He walked me home, and before I went inside, he said that he wanted to talk to me, and just asked. We didn't have a ring, so he tied a little piece of golden string on my finger. I still have that in my jewelry box." Sabine gave Adrien a small look, watching as the boy digested what she'd told him. "My point is, I know that you want to make it special dear, and it _should_ be. You'll remember how it was for the rest of your lives." The woman laughed, squeezing his arm comfortingly. "But especial doesn't necessarily mean _fanfare_. It doesn't have to mean a picture perfect backdrop, or something out of a movie. It has to be special for _you_."

Adrien nodded, beginning to get the older woman's point. "I just want her to give her something great."

"My boy, you're starting a life together, this is not supposed to be your _peak in life._ " Sabine laughed, clearly amused at the look on his face. "My daughter will make a beautiful bride; whether it's in a Cathedral or a friend's backyard."

A soft smile appeared on his face at her words. But there was a reason Adrien wanted it to be special, "I just know that her life could have been easier if she didn't move out with me; or if she didn't help me as much as she did… she might even be halfway into a designing career…" Actually, that was still relevant today, if his relationship with his father wasn't still such a current issue, Marinette would have been settled into an internship that might have just fast tracked her into fame. She was just _that_ talented.

"The heart wants what it wants, and it's _usually_ right." She told him; before a small smile appeared on her face.

Her grey eyes turned thoughtful, and Adrien was about to ask, when Sabine cleared her throat, "You know," She began, "We knew right away that you would be the one." Adrien perked up at once at her words; "It wasn't puppy love, and we could see it in the way you looked at each other. Tom and I were scared that you'd elope or something once you two turned eighteen."

Adrien could somewhat understand that reaction. Their relationship had a complexity that not many had. After all, how many people had started _fighting_ alongside their soulmate in their early teens?

"It's always been her for me." he said. Even before he knew her name, it was her.

"We know." Sabine drank from her hot chocolate, a nonchalant expression on her face. "Also. I want to point out that I did know that you snuck into her room." She paused for effect, allowing Adrien to choke on his chocolate drink, green eyes opened wide in surprise.

"Wha?" he stuttered, once he wasn't dying, wiping any chocolate on his face with the back of his hand. "What? I… uh…" He had no way of defending himself against Sabine's blunt honesty.

"Frankly, I don't know just _how_ you did it, and I don't think I _want_ to know. Especially if it meant any sort of window climbing…"

Adrien blinked at her, battling between denying any wrong doing, (which would be a _lie)._ Or simply apologizing and hoper for mercy. He also pondered whether to offer her the knowlodge that there was _not_ any window climbing, but there was another more pressing question in his mind. "How am I still alive then?"

"Alya vouched for you. That's the only reason you're alive." Sabine said, and it was just _so_ _reminiscent_ of the playful tone Marinette had sometimes, that he felt like he'd just been offered a small flash forward into his future.

"She did?"

Sabine nodded, and Adrien made a mental note to get their friend another present this Christmas.

* * *

Christmas was over and done with, and now they were back to their routine; classes and work. Adrien was reading his book, or so he planned, since he completely dozed off during the first chapter.

Adrien woke up with a startle, when he heard the front door close, and the book he had been reading falling fell from his grasp to the floor. Shit. He'd fallen asleep while reading again.

"I'm home!" her cheery voice called out from the outside their bedroom. He heard the clatter her shoes made on the ground as she kicked them off, and the shuffle of clothing and paper bags as she clearly got more comfortable.

"Mari?" he asked, still feeling somewhat drowsy from the unexpected nap.

"I should hope so!" She laughed, her voice sounding closer as she neared the bedroom. "Hey handsome!" She grinned as she leaned on the doorframe, her cheeks rosy from the outside chill, before crawling on the bed; "Oh." she said, brushing his messy hair from his eyes. "Did I wake you?"

He shook his head, leaning into her touch. "I dozed off reading," he explained, "I'm good."

"Oh. Okay." She told him, before leaning back. "Did you have dinner?" she asked him, and grinned brightly at him when he shook his head. "Well, then guess _what_ I ran into when I was getting back home…" her voice trailed off.

"No…" he said, carefully examining her face to see if he was guessing correctly. He sat up straighter on the bed, waiting for Marinette to finally spit it out.

"It was a little truck…" she trailed off, laughing loudly at Adrien's reaction _. Le Camion qui fume_ was a new little food truck that specialized in burgers. Now, foodtrucks were still a bit of novelty in the city. But they both _loved it._ The main issue was that since it changed locations daily, they didn't really keep up with where it was every day; therefore, they didn't buy from it often.

However, Adrien was a _big_ fan of their menu, especially the _Californie_ and the _Bleu burgers_. Sure, Plagg made fun of him whenever he got the _Bleu_ , since the smell from the cheese was rather strong. But Adrien refused to agree that it had anything to do with the prolonged exposure to different cheese smells he had during his adolescence.

Marinette hopped off of the bed, walking backwards towards the door, "So… dinner?" she quickly turned and skipped toward the kitchen.

"Hell yes," He scrambled off the bed and followed after her.

The paper bags were resting on the counter, crumpled from her holding them, but still steaming hot. Marinette was already working on pulling up plates to put their food on.

Plagg floated over, recognizing the bags immediately. "Which one does _he_ get?" the little kwami asked, just as Adrien opened the bag; not waiting for Marinette to hand him his plate before he took the first bite.

Plagg, however did not approve. "Ugh. You got the _wrong_ one."

"Check my purse, Plagg" Marinette laughed, "there's something for you there." There was a blur of black as Plagg dove into her purse, and Adrien rolled his eyes at the delighted purr that came from Plagg.

"This is why I like _her_ better!" The kwami called out, emerging from the depths of her purse with a small block of cheese and a grin, before heading towards Tikki, who was already holding one of the food trucks cookies Marinette had bought for dinner.

The couple moved to the couch, each carrying a plate with their burger and a drink. Adrien took a bite of his burger and he could have _moaned._ "You're the _best."_

She laughed, taking a sip out of her drink, "That's because I feed you Gourmet burgers." she answered, motioning at him with her bottle of beer. "How was your day?"

"It doesn't _hurt…"_ he told her, and took a drink, "Well, I was supposed to do a lot of reading and then… I think I just passed out." He was going to have to make up for that little nap later, but at least it was Friday. He'd have the weekend to do so.

"Aww," She gave him an affectionate look, not wanting to pet his head while she was still eating; "you really need to sleep more, and your schedule has been crazy lately."

"Are you saying I look _tired!"_ he asked, his voice filled with mock outrage.

"Yes. Yes I am." she deadpanned.

He laughed and put his plate aside, having already finished his meal. Adrien reclined against the back of the couch, his feet up on the table, feeling pretty content. "How was your day?"

She wrinkled her nose and Adrien knew that the special take out was clearly not just for his benefit. "It was… _long."_ She sat crossed legged on the sofa, so that she could face him properly and still balance the plate on her legs. "I had that _management_ class presentation today…"

"What happened?"

Marinette took a sip of her beer, tapping her chin with the bottle's neck for a moment. "Say," she began, "in a scale from one to ten, just how _bad_ would it be for Ladybug to go and scare _Cecile_ straight."

"Around _eleven_." Adrien answered and chuckled "What did she do _now?"_ Marinette's issues with her classmate were not a new discussion.

 _"Exist."_ Marinette wrinkled her nose, as she mainly played with the remaining food on her plate. "I don't know if I'm just tired, or she was being worse than usual, but…" she exhaled loudly, and Adrien took her plate, placing it over his on the bedside table. Marinette snuggled up to him, resting her legs over his lap. "She was being _terrible_ during my presentation today. She was trying to throw me off, and _ugh_ …"

Adrien cringed, remembering how nervous she was about that particular project. "I'm sorry." He said, wrapping his arm over her shoulders, his fingers running small circles on her arm. "But how did that go?"

She seemed the cheer up considerably about that. "Despite everything, it went pretty well… We'll get the results next week," she told him, and stretched her legs, toes wiggling under her socks. "I'm _really_ glad to be done with it though." She wrinkled her nose, "Numbers and me are just not the best mix."

Adrien snorted, "I remember."

She swatted at his chest, "Stop!" she laughed, "I'm just better at the designing part… I didn't sign up for the _other_ part of the business." Her arm slid across his middle, and her eyes closed, being absolutely comfortable and content.

"Tired?" he asked her, brushing her hair from her face and running his fingers through her hair.

"A little." She replied, eyes closed as a small smile tugged on the corner of her lips, "I'm just really glad to be home."

"We should go to bed," he told her. Adrien was sure that if he kept petting her, she was going to fall asleep within ten minutes.

"In a bit," Marinette mumbled, fully snuggled against his chest. "Let's stay here for a little more. This is nice."

Adrien looked at Marinette, who had her eyes closed as she cuddled against him, a small content smile on her face. And just like that, this became his ' _Aha!'_ Moment. This was what Sabine meant, there was no grand gesture needed, no real need to spend tons of money on a fancy restaurant. There was no website with _'best proposal in Paris'_ that held the answer to everything he wanted her to know. He patted his pocket, feeling the slim box on his pocket.

Good. He would have hated to break the moment right now.

"Mari," he said, reaching for the wallet on his bedside table, and pulling the slim box out, opening it as best as he could with his one free hand.

She didn't even notice, her eyes still closed as her fingers still traced invisible patterns on his chest. "Hmm?"

"Marry me?"

Her eyes flew open, "…What?" she squeaked, pushing off on his chest to sit upright again. Her blue eyes turned from his face, as if gauging the seriousness of his words and then to the box he was holding in his hand.

Adrien moved the box out of the way when she pushed off of him; not wanting her to accidentally slap the ring out of his hands. He would have laughed at how flustered she looked, if it wasn't for the fact that he was _extremely_ nervous. "Marry me." he repeated, propping the box open, letting the ring pop into view.

Her lips parted, and she exhaled slowly, her eyes falling on the ring. "It's beautiful…" she breathed. Marinette leaned closer, looking at the beautiful ring.

"Uh… Princess?" he asked, chuckling nervously, one hand rubbing the back of his neck nervously, as he still held up the ring for her to look at. "I _kind_ of need an answer here…"

That startled her back into reality, and she pounced him, kissing him soundly before crawling on his lap. "Yes." she told him, and laughed at the relieved look on his face. " _Really_? Like there was _any_ other way this could go."

He grinned, a subtle blush tinging his cheeks, laughing as she grabbed his face and kissed him again. "Hold on!" he told her, reaching for her hand to place the ring on her finger. "There."

Marinette was sitting on her lap, looking at the ring on her finger with a stunned look on her face. She just knew how big of a deal this was. It was obviously an antique, and she was sure she'd seen the ring on one of his old pictures, "It was your mom's ring, wasn't it?" she breathed and he nodded. "Thank you."

"She would have loved you."

Marinette leaned her forehead against his for a second, placing her hands on the sides of his face, smiling as she felt his arm slide around her waist. "I love you. So much." she said, her eyes bright and her smile teary and emotional. "You have _no_ idea."

"I think I _might_." he said, his smile mirroring hers, feeling a strange rush at the feel of the ring against his cheek. "I love you too, Princess. Very much."

Their moment didn't last very long. "IT WAS _ABOUT TIME!"_ Plagg's voice was loud and amused, as the two kwamis floated over to the couple. Marinette slid off Adrien's lap, snuggling up against his side.

An elated looking Tikki reached them first, landing on Adrien's shoulder, "Congratulations!" she cheered, patting the side of the blond's face softly before floating over to Marinette, immediately joining Marinette in admiring the ring, evidently delighted, even if not even remotely surprised by the news. Marinette pictured that Tikki knew already, spending so much time with Plagg like they did.

Plagg, usually the grumpy one, and completely uninterested on anything but whether they got him some cheesy snack, still looked happy for the couple, even if he tried to mask it with sass. " _You_ ," he told Adrien, "Did great. And _you_ ," he turned to Marinette, "could have done better."

Marinette snorted, and scratched behind Plagg's ear, used to the kwami's teasing. "Be nice!"

"Fine." Plagg said, hitting with his tiny paw the offered fist that Adrien held up to him. "I'm happy she's marrying you. I'm also glad you didn't go with your clichés."

Marinette's back straightened up, "Is this," she held up her hand, the diamond ring glimmering as it caught the light, "Is this why you kept wanting to go to the Eiffel tower so much when we patrolled?"

 _Busted_. "… _Yes_ "

"That's not all!" Plagg offered, an amused grin taking over his tiny face, and Adrien swatted him away as he got up from the couch, "Hey!" Plagg whined, maneuvering around Adrien to address Marinette. "I am being _censored!_ There is no _freedom of speech_ in this house!"

Adrien was too happy to even be the slightest bit annoyed at Plagg's teasing, but even then, he was used to it. "And I was going to get you some camembert tomorrow." he teased, as he reached for Marinette's hand, easily tugging her back on her feet.

Plagg mimed zipping his lips, and Adrien laughed. "Now," he began, addressing both Tikki and Plagg, "If you two will excuse us," He leaned over, picking Marinette up, making her squeal; she wrapped her arms around his neck and legs around his hips, and joined him in grinning down at their kwamis. "I am taking my _fiancée_ to bed. _Good night!"_

"Oh, _Gross_." Plagg said, flying towards the remote control to turn on the TV.

Adrien laughed and turned away, leaving the Kwamis alone in the living room, as he carried a giggling Marinette towards their bedroom, the door slamming as he kicked it shut.

And no, they did not call anyone until late the following day.


End file.
